Conventional support bra underwire designs incorporate an underwire support (“underwire”), which is typically made of a narrow steel band, wire, coated metal or a customized plastic support component. The support underwire is commonly retained within a molded or sewn, ultra thin tubular fabric casing or pocket located under a cup of the bra. It has been known in the art for some years that the end of the support underwire is abrasive and wears against the inside of the ultra thin tubular fabric casing whenever the bra is handled or worn.
This results from conventional fabrication designs where the internal length of the ultra thin tubular fabric casing is greater than the length of the enclosed underwire. This configuration allows the underwire to move around, or “float,” inside the ultra thin tubular fabric casing, often by as much as one inch in either direction. As the end of the underwire can be very abrasive against the interior surface of the ultra thin tubular fabric casing, this one-inch floating usually produces a “wear gap” at one or both ends of the material forming the ultra thin tubular fabric casing.
Movement of the underwire within the ultra thin tubular fabric casing may be caused by: normal usage of the bra; by flexing; by washing, drying, and hanging of the bra; by folding and packing of the bra; and even by simple every day activities. The abrasive end of the support underwire constantly stresses against the ultra thin tubular fabric casing, causing wear and eventually penetrates the material.
While the consumer can often repair a broken bra strap or a bent hook, the problem of the protruding underwire support can be only temporarily repaired, if at all. When this damage occurs in a relatively expensive retail or custom designed bra the user most frequently just reinstalls the support underwire back inside the bra ultra thin tubular fabric casing and may attempt to cover over the torn area, such as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 8,778,475 to Joyce et al. Such temporary repairs do not last long, where the wearer is eventually again subjected to being at the very least constantly uncomfortable by being scratched by the re-exposed support underwire or in some cases, the wearer of the bra may be in pain due to being pierced on the lateral side of her body by the exposed abrasive end of the underwire.
A temporary “fix” often employs tape or glue to the damaged area. Using a cloth tape provides an interim repair, which eventually succumbs to failure due to laundry agitation, chemicals, or piercing again by the support underwire. Iron-on patches of tape using a heat activated glue, where the material may be stronger than the original softer ultra thin tubular fabric casing is only a delaying tactic, only to result once again in the piercing of the ultra thin tubular fabric casing. The actual issue of friction/penetration has not been adequately addressed in the present state of the art.
Conventional fabrication solutions to prevent such wear gaps include the addition of an extremely thin rubber coating over some steel underwires, or a rounding of the ends of abrasive plastic underwires. U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,802 “Wire frames for bras and the like” ofAvis discloses smooth metal caps and plastics material used on the ends of the underwire. U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,060 “Safety bra support” of Cheung discloses a thermally contractible case attached to the tip of an underwire. U.S. Pat. No. 9,017,137 “Pre-encased underwire assembly” of Boser discloses an underwire that is fully enclosed in a fabric enclosure as a separate assembly.
UK Patent Application GB 2458675 discloses an insert using reverse angled barbs (“textured outer surface”). These barbs were intended to hold the insert in place within the sewn sleeve. But this idea was seriously flawed as the barbs themselves become multiple wear points, and still do not address an anchoring of the underwire with a serious reduction in kinetic friction. U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,401 “Support device” of Littell discloses a base and surrounding sidewall with flanges used as a repair device to prevent the re-emergence of the abrasive underwire resulting from wear of the ultra thin tubular fabric casing. However, the Littell device lacks the ability for installation within the ultra thin tubular fabric casing. Moreover, the particular design taught by Littell presents abrasive surfaces to the bra ultra thin tubular fabric casing, and is not configured to repair a bra having an exposed underwire.
The temporary fix of using an adhesive “glue” to bridge over the wear gap of the underwire providing perhaps a few hours to a day of wear or so but the abrasive steel or other abrasive underwire material is relentless in its stress against the same location within the ultra thin tubular fabric casing and will breach shortly thereafter.
The issue of the primarily used unanchored abrasive steel underwire support, or the lesser-used unanchored abrasive plastic underwire support, provides to the public an inferior costly product which will at some point provide discomfort and pain due to being scratched or worse having the skin penetrated by the underwire causing the wearer to have an open wound and eventually skin discoloration once a wound is healed. The “support underwire” floating in the ultra thin tubular fabric casing causes the “wear gap” damage. This process of damage to the bra ultra thin tubular fabric casing actually begins once the underwire has been inserted at the factory. It is known in the art that the support underwire can begin to wear through the ultra thin tubular fabric casing from the time the bra is first packaged at the factory. There is no known design that addresses the issues described above. What is needed is a method and device to cure these shortcomings.